Toronto’s new WNBA team’s rollout did not go according to plan

Toronto’s new WNBA team officially has a name: the Toronto Tempo.

Toronto — one of two expansion teams that will join the league in 2026 — underwent a public engagement program that engaged more than 10,000 people in an open call-for-inspiration from across Canada and around the world.

Tempo, which means the same thing in both English and French, was the end result.

“Tempo is pace. It’s speed. It’s a heartbeat. And it’s what you feel when you step into the streets of this city, and in the energy of the people who call Canada home,” said Teresa Resch, President of the Toronto Tempo. “As Canada’s WNBA team, I know the Tempo will set our own pace, move at a championship cadence, and inspire people across this country.”

“It’s really the first team name to talk about the game itself,” Resch told the Canadian Press. “Tempo is not about going fast or slow, it’s about control. And truly, as Canadians, we’re not playing your game, we’re defining ours through that control.”

While the name was officially announced on Thursday morning, it had been circulating the internet for a couple of days. It first leaked on Tuesday night, when WNBA fans noticed the “Toronto Tempo” was listed as part of a dropdown menu on the WNBA’s website that featured 14 teams. Screenshots of the menu circulated social media, and speculation was further fueled when the name was pulled within a few minutes.

While some speculated that “Tempo” stood for “Temporary” — and not the franchise’s actual team name — Thursday’s announcement confirmed otherwise.

The leak put an undeniable dent in the franchise’s roll-out plans.

“Well, nothing ever goes as planned,” Resch told the Canadian Press. “But yeah, we would have loved to have our merchandise ready and be able to roll that all out at once. But we’re still really excited to share the name and logo and colours.”

Resch told the Canadian Press that the Tempo’s colors will be light blue and red: “a modern take on a very familiar Canadian colour palate.”

Toronto was awarded a WNBA franchise in May, making it the first city outside of the U.S. to have a WNBA team. The team will be owned by Kilmer Sports Ventures, chaired by Larry Tanenbaum who owns several other Toronto professional sports teams like the NBA’s Raptors, the NHL’s Maple Leafs and the MLS’s Toronto FC. The Tempo will join the league in May of 2026 and play home games at the Coca-Cola Coliseum.

Portland will be the 15th WNBA team, and is also set to join the league in 2026 — but its official logo and branding has yet to be released.

The league will certainly hope that the Portland franchise can release its official branding and logo on their own terms rather than prematurely due to an inadvertent like. Still, it appears that the Tempo have taken their roll-out hiccups in stride.